Home sweet first home

By Melissa Chang

Published: 2011.10.18 11:44 PM

The honeymoon is complete, wedding gifts are put away, and newlyweds Allan and Krystal Wu have moved into their first home—a home they found on this blog.

"We were pretty picky," Allan says. "We had a set budget but were flexible on whether it was a home or a condo. If it was a home, we had to consider neighborhood, square footage, rooms, and hoped that there wouldn't be a yard so we wouldn't have to do yard work."

Krystal adds, "If we lived in a condo, we wanted a low maintenance fee, but looked for the amenities, as well. Two-bedroom units that met our criteria tended to be expensive."

The Wus were blown away at how real estate listings were like personal ad listings: people posted only the best photos online, naturally, but in some cases the pictures made the homes look bigger, nicer, and/or newer than they really were. But, they forged on in their hunt, and gave homes a look if they thought there might be potential.

Before and after shots of the kitchen

One such home was a surprise even for me, which is why I blogged about it in June. It was—or, is—an older home in an older neighborhood, but the owners had almost completely renovated the interior to look like new. Fortunately for the Wus, the owners were in the military and were transferred before they could ever live in their newly renovated home.

“It’s perfect for us in size and in location,” Allan says. “We’re so close to the freeway access now, that it’s faster for us to get to work than before.”

“And there’s a yard, but not much,” Krystal says, pointing to little patches in which they can opt to grow things. Or not.

About Our Writers

Honolulu Real Estate focuses on the Hawai‘i housing market, condos and homes for sale, Hawai‘i rentals and general news about real estate in Hawai‘i. It also includes stories on apartment living, home decor and profiles.

Melissa Chang graduated from the University of Hawai‘i with a degree in journalism. She has been blogging about food and travel since 2007. She works primarily in social media, so you can find her online @Melissa808 on Twitter and Instagram.

Jaymes Song is a real estate agent at Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate in Kāhala. Jaymes is in the top 1.5 percent of Better Homes agents nationwide. He was voted “Best in Real Estate” in 2015 and 2014 by HONOLULU Magazine readers. Previously, Jaymes was at The Orange County Register, Honolulu Star-Bulletin and rose through the ranks to overseeing news and operations for AP in Hawai‘i and the Pacific Rim. Jaymes lives in the Portlock area and loves his real full-time job as a dad to two curious kids.